Harper Lee 'extremely hurt' by book brouhaha

Is she or isn't she? That's the big question in the book world that just won't quit.

Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird sequel, Go Set a Watchman, is set to be published this summer. And it's expected to be Harry Potter big.

But when news broke that the manuscript, written before Mockingbird, was unearthed unexpectedly by friend and lawyer Tonja Carter, skepticism also broke out, with some wondering if Lee, 88, was being manipulated and exploited.

The Pulitzer Prize winning author has been described as being deaf and blind and living in a nursing home in Monroeville, Ala. In other words, how could Lee, who said she'd never write another book after Mockingbird, have given her blessing to this?

So is she being manipulated?

Carter, answering questions on Saturday through emails and text messages told The New York Times that Lee is "extremely hurt and humiliated" at the suggestion that she has been duped in any way.

"She is a very strong, independent and wise woman who should be enjoying the discovery of her long lost novel," Carter said. "Instead, she is having to defend her own credibility and decision making."

Still, that's not Lee talking. It's her lawyer.

When pressed about the discovery and why she won't provide more detail on it, Carter said, "I am a lawyer, not a celebrity. The focus should be on the gift Harper Lee is giving the world."

However, while many people in Lee's hometown and in the publishing world remain surprised that she would allow the publication to go forward, Cynthia McMillan, a resident assistant at the Meadows assisted-living facility who has taken care of Lee for several years, seems to back Carter's story.

McMillan tells the Times that the author is alert and understands what is happening. "She seems excited about it," says McMillan, adding that Lee is "sharp as a tack."